Process of making producer gas



` w. M. coss PRoeEss. oF 'MAKING' RDUCER GAS Fld Nov." 29,' 192e Q bw SSS bw% m b u INVENTOR. 7055:

. NN WN Nm, Im.'

WALTER M. cnoss, on

` in Fig. 1.

Patented Dec. 1, 1931' UNITED -s'ra'ras PATENT orlmzls:y y

PROCESS OF MAKING PRODUCER GAS .Application led November 29, 1926. Serial No. 151,42l y This invention relates to improvementsu in .p

` conduit 11.

gas producers and refers more particularly to a system in which gas of a relatively higher B. t. u. content is produced than thatl manufactured at the present time in gas producersl vide a gas producer relatively cheap to operate because of the economical use of the exhaust steam, and waste heat from the gas made in the producer. y

The system provides furthermore for the creation and maintenance of temperatures controlled at substantially the reaction tem# perature of the formation of carbon-monox-l 1de and hydrogen from coal and steam which is in the neighborhood of 900 F. to provide a coal dust gas producer which gives the con'- tents a whirling or spiral motion while the materials are undergoing reaction, and in general to provide a system hereinafter described in more detail. Fig. 1 is` a diagrammatic side elevational view of the gas producing system.

Fig. 2 is a view Referring to the drawings, at 1 is shown `-a coal hopper or bin, which communicates through a conduit 2 with a funnel like feed hopper 3, which is mounted upon the pulverizer 4. The pulverizer is driven by means of a motor diagrammatically shown at 5, or

by any other suitable available source of conveyor passes into the annular duct 10, sur'- rounding the gas producer near its top. To this annular space, or duct is also .fed Vair taken along the 1ine-2-2 and superheated steam through the pipe or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI; .ANNE H. CROSS EXECUTRIX OF SAID- WALTER IMC. CROSS, DECEASED The superheatedsteam is supplied by the exhaust or discharge from the pump 12, and has a steam inlet line 13 and an exhaust or discharge line 14. The steam passing through the line 14 is directed throu h a heat exchanger 15 where it'isbroug, tfin heat exchange relation with the highly heated gas Withdrawn from the `producer 16 through the l pipe 17. Aierbeing preheated by the` hot gas the steam 'passes-through pipe 18 and is circulated through a series of banks 'of coils designatedas 19 and-20 in the air and steam superheater 21 the superheated steam and air thus passes to the gas producer through the line 11 on which is placed the thermometer 11a orindicating the .degree of temperature to which theair and heated.

The air and steamV superheater is fired either by gas, oil or coal, the combustion gases steam have been super# passing from the chamber 21?1 over the baiile wall 22 and downwardly throughthe chamber in which the coil 19 is positioned. These 'partially spent combustion gases are directed thence throu h a flue 23 and into the heat exch anger 24, w ere they are brought in heat exchange relation with cool air through the pipe 25.` After being cooled by the heat transer in the exchanger 24 thecombustion' gases pass oiz" to a fiue 26.

'The air, as suggested, 'introduced through -the pipe 25 receives heat from the combustion 'gases in the exchanger 24. and (passes through the llne 26 to `an air pump 27 riven by a motor 28. By means of the pump the air is discharged through the second heat exchanger 15 1n which it is combined with the steamv introduced theretov throu h 'the line 14. In the exchanger 15 the pre eated airand'steam receives additional heat from the. highly heated gas discharge` from the producerthrough the line 17 The combined air and steam pass through the line 18 and receive their final raise in temperatur'ein' the superheater` 21. The discharge line 29 controlled'by a. valve 30 serves as'a means. for

diverting a portion of the steam exhaust lfrom the pump while the steam introduced to the A(lli system is regulated by a valve 31 inthe line 10 perheated steam supplied through the-line 11, these materials are 'introduced to the producer through tuyres or injection nozzles 35, which are set at an angle in order that the materials will be injected substantially tangent-ially' `into the circular producer. The producer 1s highly insulated to prevent insofar as is possible a loss of heat by radiation. The mixture or charge, as suggested, is given a whirling or spiral. motion on its injection into the producer and continues this whirling turbulence throughout'. its travelk from the top of the producer to the bottom whe're the gas passes out through a bale discharge line 17. l The hood 36 separates solid im urities such as dust from the gas. The pro ucer is equipped with a cleanout hole 37 which is covered by a removable plate l38. l`In'. the

bottom of the producer is a molten slag drawoi pipe 39, controlled by a valve 40.

`The producer gas dischargedthrough the line 17 passes through the heat exchanger 15 where it gives up a considerable part of its heat tothe steam and air introduced through the pipes 14 and 34'respectively. From the 41 into the dust separator 42, Vthe marketable gas being' delivered through a line 43 to a.v

of reaction by passing it through aheat exchanger and then through the superheater in series. By raising the mixture of air andI steam to this reaction temperature 1t 1s unnecessary otherwise to rely upon a partial combustlon of the air in the producer to maintain the heat ofreaetion' and 4thereby reduce the uality of thegas made.

The intro uction'of the air and steam-mixture with the pulveri-zed coal or oil in such a way as to promote a` high degree of turbulence in the reacting stage or'producer,while operating, effects lnot only an intimate combination of the constituents, but im rovesthe character ,of7 the gas'produced. T e process is continuous, as contrasted with the normal type of gas producer operation, in whichy a considerable eriod of the operation is 4takenl up with the eating of the producer to the exchanger the gas passes through the pipev desired reaction temperature,\or the temperature at which the air and steam will combine with the pulverized fuel or oil constituents to produce the quality of gas'desired.

`The producer is free from the difficulties incidental to coking and channeling common to most gas producers. The coking and channeling materially slows downthe production of the producerV and `seriously affects efficiency.

In the presentassembly or construction there is providedl a means for superheating steam and a ir mixtures more or less according to the number of B. t. u-.s re uired inthe gas. Thus, when a gas is desire having a h1gh B, t. u. content, a very small amount of air and relativelylarge amount of steam heated to a temperature of in the neighborhood of 2200o F. is used for introduction tothe roducer to be combined with the'coaldust., ue to the fact that/so much heat is brought in by mea'nsof the air and steam mixture, there will be relatively little combustion required to keep the temperatureof the gas producer at a proper reaction temperaturefor the economical production ofthe producer gas.

Under the above conditionsthe dilution by nitrogen of the atmosphere is greatly minimized and accordingly the gas has a vcorrepondingly higher heatingy value per cubic oot.

For example, when Southern Illinois biltuminous coal isy used 'and the lsteam and air are heated to ysay 2500 F. wherethey enter the gas producer, the B. t. u; value ofthe gas passing out of the system willbe about 300 per cubic foot, more or less, according to the volatile hydrocarbon content of the varilous Southern Illinois coals. For any particular coal or other fuel the B. t. u. content of the gas will remain practically the same continuously, so-long as the coal, steam'and air are fed in at a unlform lrate and thesteam and air areheated to a particular temperature, of say 2500" F. Al typical sample analysis of gas made by this-'continuous process under these conditionsof Icontinuous .operation with powdered bituminous coal havlng a volatile content of say 32% is substantially. as. follows:

. Per cent by volume Carbon dioxide (C021) .g-- 1. 2 Carbonk monoxide (CO) 27.

Hydrogen (H2) 33. 6 Methane (C II) l 7. 5 Illuminants (CnHZN) 2. 8

Per cent j by difference Nitrogen (N2). i l; 27.6

Whenv transportation distances' arei relatively Lsmall, and-itl is not desired to producen gas having such'high B. t. u. value, the steam `is superheated to a lesser degree. In such a case unsuperheated steam may be used Where only a gas having a B. t. u. content of 125 per cubic foot of producer gas would be required.

In other cases where the producer. gas is to be used in internal combustlon engmes there would'be no object in using a very dilute' gas.

In the present construction means are proi vided for pulverizing the coal and for blowing it or transferring it into the gas producer by means of superheated steam and air. .T he steam, preferably that taken from a pump such as a gas distributing pump, is superheated by being brought in heat exchanging relation with the gas from the producer, and also by a supplementary heater. The gas from the producer may come olf at temperap tures as high as 22000 F. and a large amount of this heat may be conserved or utilized by transmission to the steam and air which is being supplied to the producer. A large amount of heat inthe gas isordinarily lost in the ordinary practicesl and the recovery shown in the present custom will effect a saving so that the actual cost of heatingthe air (2) The system aords a process for producing a gas for relatively high B.'t. u. content by superheating the steam and air required for the production of producer gas to a controlled predetermined temperature corresponding or above the minimum reaction temperature. f

(3) The combination and utilization of the exhaust steam from pumps and the heat exchangin equipment by means of which the heat o l the gas discharged 'fromthe producer is transferred to the air and steam beplementary superheater for the air and steam 1n combination with a heat exchanger in the Hue of thev superheater Ifor taking. advantage of the heat of the flue gases.l

(4) Anieans for withdrawing the slagY i continuously while the gas producer is operating and for burning the fuel advantageously.

(5) A process in which the steam and air are heated substantially to or above the reacting temperature. A condition which romotes the rapidity of gas production during which reaction the carbonaceous material combines with the steam and air to form carbonmonoxide and hydrogen and controlled relation.

(6) The placing of the inletfor the carbonaceous material and steam in a'position in a desired on the producer so that the mixture'is progreater turbidity to the .constituents undergoing reaction, which promotes a more complete combination.

I claim as my invention:

A ,continuous process of making producer gas, comprising the steps of charging a pul- `verized solid carbonaceous fuel into the top of a reaction chamber, simultaneously charging a preheated mixture of air and steam into the 'top' of said reaction chamber, said mixture of air and steam being preheated to a constant predetermined temperaturev of reaction whereby producer gas results when charged in the chamber with the fuel, and' withdrawin producer gas from the bottom of the cham er at a temperature of substanuauy 22000 F.

WALTER M. onces.

ing introduced thereto. Also the use of supject'ed into theproducer approximately tangentially to the inner surface ofthe cylindrical lwall of the producer, thus giving 

